Harry growled and tossed his quill onto the table. Hermione looked over with a disapproving look on her face. “Problems?” She asked, Harry nodded. “I can’t think of how to get this spell to work.”
Their homework was to either write an entirely new spell, or to find a new use for an already existing one. It was proving tricky for everyone.? “What exactly are you trying to do?” Harry shrugged his shoulders. “It’s complicated.” Hermione playfully slapped the back of his head. “Don’t give me that. Now come on, what are you trying to do.” She glanced at the book and skimmed at the section he was reading. *How to make an Invisibility cloak for dummies – so simple a squib can do it.* Hermione looked at him. “So what are you trying to make?” Harry sighed and shrugged his shoulders yet again. “I guess I watched too much, Lord of the Rings, over the summer.” Hermione thought about it for a minute, but before Harry could continue, it clicked. “A magic ring to make you invisible? You have been watching too much Lord of the Rings.” She laughed. “What makes you think that would work? Invisibility cloaks work by covering the person, its common knowledge that any item intended to bring invisibility to the wearer it supposed to be larger than the actual wearer.” She pointed to the first line of How to make an Invisibility cloak for dummies. “It say’s so right there.” Harry handed her his notes, a smile growing on his face.
Hermione glanced down and read what he was working on. An expanding magical field! It would mean that the magic would expend to the exact size of the wearer of the object. It was better than an invisibility cloak because you didn’t run the risk of snagging it on anything. It also meant that the size of the enchanted object was irrelevant. The thing that surprised Hermione most of all, was the fact that it could work. In a move that shocked Harry, she picked up the book and tossed it away. “This is amazing Harry. You’ve single headedly. Re-written every rule on making an invisibility object. What is causing you so much frustration?” Harry pointed again to his notes. “Look at the last line.” Hermione glanced down and read the sentence in detail. Power unstable. Object will not hold spell indefinitely. “I see. Its like a battery, only has limited power.” Harry nodded. “The longest I’ve managed to get is about five minutes of use.” Hermione stared in surprise. “But that’s great, it’ll easily get you full marks on your homework.” But Harry was not satisfied. “I need more time. At least an hour.” He slammed his fist into the table, which made people around the common roof stare at them. Hermione nodded, Harry was not only thinking of his homework, but practically. He wanted to be able to use this object in the inevitable battles they always managed to get themselves into. It was a clever idea because an enchanted ring or bracelet was much easier to carry around than an invisibility cloak. She sighed and handed his notes back to him, this was a conundrum. She thought about it for a moment, was there a spell that could be used? “I might have a few books you can use.” She muttered eventually. Harry’s eyes lit up and a smile twitched onto his face. “Really?” Hermione smiled and nodded. “What’s the old saying? ‘You scratch my back’.” Harry sighed. “What do you need?” Hermione, smiled. “I need a test for my project.” She asked nervously. Harry nodded. “What exactly does your project do?” Hermione looked excited by the prospect of explaining something ? complicated. “I was thinking practically, like you. Something we might also be able to use in a battle with Voldemort. It’s a potion that would make the drinkers skin impervious to penetration. Spell, knives, swords, even bullets if I got the mix right. I call it a Rock skin potion.” Harry was impressed, he knew Hermione had been working on something difficult, but what she’d done sounded almost impossible. “Why do you need me?” He asked, he suspected he might not like the answer, but he had to know. Hermione rubbed the back of her neck nervously and had a weak smile on her face. “In case anything goes wrong. I need to observe the affects in order to know how to modify the potion.” Harry was right, he didn’t like the answer. But he also wanted to figure out how to make his invisibility ring work and if she had the answer then it would save him hours, even days of research in the library. “Fine. I’ll see you in my room in say, ten minutes?” Hermione nodded. “See you there.”
Harry sat impatiently on his bed. His parchment and quills were scattered around, waiting to be used. The bedroom door slammed and Hermione came in, carrying half a dozen thick books and a large bottle of bright blue liquid, rolling dangerously close to the edge of the pile of books. Harry got to his feet and tried to take a couple of volumes from her, but she shook her head. “I got them. Just grab the potion.” Harry took the bottle and placed it on a bedside cabinet.
Hermione dumped the books on the bed and took the bottle. “One of these should have what your looking for.” Harry reached down for one of the volumes, but Hermione slapped his hand away. “First we test my potion. Then I help you look.” She pushed the bottle into his hands and took a quill and parchment.
Harry glanced at the blue liquid unsurely. “So I just drink it?” Hermione nodded. “Not all of it, I still need some to present in class. Just a mouthful should do.”
Harry pulled the stopped from the top and sniffed the potion. It had a faint hint of liquorish for some reason. “Cheers.” He muttered and took a deep swig and placed the stopped back in place.
Is stomach gurgled angrily and he felt cold in his centre. He told these symptoms to Hermione who copied them down onto the parchment. “Anything else?” She inquired eagerly. He shook his head. “Maybe that’s all.” He muttered. Hermione shrugged her shoulders. “Possibly.” From a pocket in her robes she pulled a small pin. “Give me your hand. If the potion works, this won’t hurt a bit.
Harry was glad she was testing him with only a pin and willingly stuck out his hand. Hermione jabbed the pin onto his finger. The metal sank straight into his flesh and Harry yanked back his hand, yelling in surprise and agony. He gripped his hand tightly and slowly worked the needle out. Hermione pulled a tissue out of her robes and handed it to him. Harry wrapped it around his wound, blood stained it rapidly. He turned to Hermione and scowled. “I thought you said I’d be fine.” He yelled. Hermione looked shocked and depressed. “I thought I had it right. I really did. The potion should have worked. It should have.”
Harry forgot his anger and sat on the bed beside her. It wasn’t often that Hermione was wrong, in fact this was probably the first time he could remember. It must be hard on her.
He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. But a shot of pain across his chest made him pull back. Harry cringed and grabbed his chest. It felt like his heart was on fire. Hermione noticed the pain and forgot her mood. “Harry, what’s wrong?” Harry opened his mouth to reply, but all that came out was an agonised cry as his chest felt like a truck hit it. He fell back onto the bed, his entire body became stiff with only a small twitching in his hands to show he hadn’t gone into full paralysis. “I can’t breath.” Came an agonised gasp.
Hermione stood over him in a panic, what could she do? Nothing. She’d given him an entirely new potion, no one knew the effects, or how to cure it. She jumped to her feet, intending to run for Madam Pomfrey.
to be continued…